A Second Look - A Dramione Story

Chapter 20

Warning: This is not my story. It is from RiverWriter on ao3.

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Hermione looked at her reflection in the mirror and gathered her courage. She loved her gown. She didn't think she'd ever loved an article of clothing quite so much, though her dress for the Yule Ball in fourth year was a close second. They both made her feel strong and beautiful, and wasn't that what the best clothing should do?

The gown had been a major splurge, but as she readied herself for the gala she started to believe it had been worth it. Not only was it, as Pansy had said when she'd seen Hermione try it on, "the exact color of Draco's eyes," but she'd need all the weapons in her arsenal tonight. She'd faced some truly terrifying things in her life but a fancy party still intimidated her, and a fancy party where she was going to reveal her relationship with Draco Malfoy to everyone in the Wizarding World had her shaking in her stilettos.

She checked her appearance one more time, taking particular care with the neckline of the dress which didn't allow for any kind of undergarment; she couldn't risk using magic on the delicate fabric, so she was using double-sided tape to preserve her modesty. Everything seemed secure but she felt a little exposed nonetheless. However, the overall effect was rather fabulous, even better than she'd expected - the gray silk draped elegantly around her curves, showing off her figure and then fell straight to the floor with a small train at the back. But the thing that made the dress truly unique and interesting was the rabbit fur cape attached at the shoulders, giving the sleeveless gown a luxurious winter look.

She'd taken half a day to get ready, making an appointment at a salon to have a massage, manicure, pedicure, and have her hair cut and styled. And then, much to Draco's chagrin, she'd returned to her flat to dress. It was where she had been keeping her gown because Draco could be very nosy and she'd gotten the girliest notion that she'd wanted it to be a surprise. Now she was glad she'd followed her instincts, because as nervous as she was about the gala, she couldn't wait to go to Draco- whom she'd heard floo into her living room about five minutes ago- and see his reaction.

With one last deep breath she grabbed her clutch from her dresser, lifted the dress so she wouldn't trip over the train, and made her way out of the bedroom. Draco was pacing her living room- he was reluctant to admit it, but she knew that he was nervous about tonight as well, though the moment they apparated out of her flat she was sure he'd mask that completely. He stopped when he heard her coming, turned to face her, and froze.

"Draco?" She asked tentatively, rapidly losing her confidence as he continued to just stare at her. "Is there something wrong?"

His eyes flew to hers. He swallowed, licked his lips, and swallowed again. "I didn't know it was possible to actually be struck speechless."

"Oh," she gasped, looking away from him and coloring with pleasure. "The dress is really something, isn't it? Pansy was right, I'm glad she talked me into buying it." She felt him approaching her, then a pair of shiny black shoes came into view, and finally a finger under her chin encouraging her to raise her head. She looked up into the grey eyes she'd been waking up to every morning for weeks now.

He smiled and cupped her hips in his hands, pulling her against him and resting his forehead against hers. "It's not the dress, Hermione, though you are particularly gorgeous tonight. I'm just feeling humbled that you're mine, that you're going to walk in there tonight on my arm - that you want to."

"Who'd have thought, Draco Malfoy, humbled," she tapped the tip of her nose against his, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the admission.

"Well, there's a first and a last time for everything," he chuckled. "Truly though sweetness, you're magnificent and this dress is a work of art. Remind me not to damage it when I'm taking it off of you tonight," he growled and she shivered at the desire in his voice. "I'd say let's just stay in but I'm very much looking forward to showing you off."